Troilus: Difference between revisions

'''Troilus'''<ref>Also spelled '''Troilos''' or '''Troylus'''.</ref> ({{IPAc-en|lang|pron|ˈ|t|r|ɔɪ|l|ə|s}} <small>or</small> {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|oː|ə|l|ə|s}}; {{lang-langx|grc|Τρωΐλος|Troïlos}}; {{lang-langx|la|Troilus}}) is a legendary character associated with the story of the [[Trojan War]]. The first surviving reference to him is in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]],'' composed in the late 8th century BCEBC.

For the ancient Greeks, the tale of the [[Trojan War]] and the surrounding events appeared in its most definitive form in the [[Epic Cycle]] of eight [[epic poetry|narrative poems]]<ref>For simplicity's sake, the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'' are here treated as part of the Epic Cycle, though the term is often used to describe solely the non-[[Homer]]ic works.</ref> from the [[archaic period in Greece]] (750 BC – 480 BC). The story of Troilus is one of a number of incidents that helped provide structure to a narrative that extended over several decades and 77 books from the beginning of the ''[[Cypria]]'' to the end of the ''[[Telegony]]''. The character's death early in the war and the prophecies surrounding him demonstrated that all Trojan efforts to defend their home would be in vain. His symbolic significance is evidenced by linguistic analysis of his Greek name "Troilos". It can be interpreted as an [[elision]] of the names of [[Tros (mythology)|Tros]] and [[Ilos]], the legendary founders of Troy, as a [[diminutive]] or [[pet name]] "little Tros" or as an elision of ''TroiëTroíē'' (Troy) and ''lyolúein'' (to destroy). These multiple possibilities emphasise the link between the fates of Troilus and of the city where he lived.<ref>Boitani, (1989: pp.4–5).</ref> On another level, Troilus' fate can also be seen as [[foreshadowing]] the subsequent deaths of his murderer [[Achilles]], and of his nephew [[Astyanax]] and sister [[Polyxena]], who, like Troilus, die at the altar in at least some versions of their stories.<ref>Burgess (2001: pp.144–5).</ref>

===The standard myth: the beautiful youthTroilus murdered===

Troilus is an adolescent boy or [[ephebos|ephebe]]young man, the son of [[Hecuba]], queen of [[Troy]]. As he is so beautiful, Troilus is taken to be the son of the god [[Apollo]].<ref>Apollo's parentage first appears in a 2nd century AD text. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.5 Apollod.+3.12.5]</ref> However, Hecuba's husband, King [[Priam]], treats him as his own much-loved child.

A prophecy says that Troy will not fall if Troilus lives intoto the age of adulthoodtwenty. So the goddess [[Athena]] encourages the Greek warrior [[Achilles]] to seek him out early in the [[Trojan War]]. The youthTroilus is known to take great delight in his horses. Achilles ambushes him and his sister [[Polyxena]] when he has ridden with her for water from a well in the [[Thymbra]] – an area outside Troy where there is a [[temple]] of Apollo.

The Greek is struck by the beauty of both Trojans and is filled with lust. It is the fleeing Troilus whom swift-footed<ref>This Homeric epithet is picked out as applying to Achilles in this context both in March (1998: p.389) and Sommerstein (2007: p.197).</ref> Achilles catches, dragging him by the hair from his horse. The young prince refuses to yield to Achilles' sexual attentions and somehow escapes, taking refuge in the nearby temple. But the warrior follows him in, and beheads him at the [[altar]] before help can arrive. The murderer then mutilates the boy's body. The mourning of the Trojans at Troilus' death afterward is great.

The earliest surviving literary reference to Troilus is in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', which formed one part of the ''[[Epic Cycle]]''. It is believed that Troilus' name was not invented by Homer and that a version of his story was already in existence.<ref>Burgess (2001: p.64).</ref> Late in the poem, Priam berates his surviving sons, and compares them unfavourably to their dead brothers including ''Trôïlon hippiocharmên''.<ref>Homer ''Iliad'' (XXIV, 257) The text for the whole passage in Greek, with hotlinks to parallel English translations, is available at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133&layout=&loc=24.257]. (Verified 1 August 2007.)</ref> The interpretation of ''hippiocharmên'' is controversial but the root ''hipp-'' implies a connection with horses. For the purpose of the version of the myth given above, the word has been taken as meaning "delighting in horses".<ref name="Homer">Carpenter (1991: p.17), March (1998: p.389), Gantz (1993: p.597) and Lattimore's translation at {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.library.northwestern.edu/homer/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-08-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904141913/http://www.library.northwestern.edu/homer/ |archive-date=2007-09-04 |access-date=2007-08-15}} (and maybe Woodford (1993: p.55)) interpret ''hippiocharmên'' as horse-loving; Boitani (1989: p.1), who quotes [[Alexander Pope]]'s translation of the ''Iliad'' and the [[Liddell and Scott]] lexicon and translations available at the [[Perseus Project]] (checked 1 August 2007) interpret the word as meaning chariot warrior. Sommerstein (2007) wavers between the two meanings giving each in different places in the same book (p.44, p.197). The confusion over the meaning dates back to ancient times. The [[Homeric scholarship#Scholia|Scholia D]] (available in Greek at {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/vanthiel/scholiaD.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610171826/http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/vanthiel/scholiaD.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-10 |access-date=2007-08-14}} link checked 14 August 2007) says that the word can mean either a horse warrior or someone who takes delight in horses (p.579). Other scholia argue that Homer cannot have considered Troilus a boy, either because he is considered one of the best or because he is described as a horse-warrior. (Scholia S-I24257a and S-I24257b respectively, available in Greek at [http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720014154/http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv|date=2011-07-20}}. Link checked 14 August 2007.)</ref> Sommerstein believes that Homer wishes to imply in this reference that Troilus was killed in battle, but argues that Priam's later description of Achilles as ''andros paidophonoio'' ("boy-slaying man")<ref>Homer ''Iliad'' 24.506.</ref> indicates that Homer was aware of the story of Troilus as a murdered child; Sommerstein believes that Homer is playing here on the ambiguity of the root ''paido-'' meaning boy in both the sense of a young male and of a son.<ref>Sommerstein (2007: pp. 44, 197–8).</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 40%; margin-left: 1em;; font-size: 85100%; line-height: 1.2;"

| [[Stasinus of Cyprus]]?

| ''Troilos''

| ''Troilos''

| 8th–7th century BC

| ''Polyxene''

| 29–19 BC

| 1st–3rd century

Of all these fragmentary pre-Hellenistic sources, the most is known of Sophocles ''Troilos''. Even so, only 54 words have been identified as coming from the play.<ref>Text available with parallel translation in Sommerstein (2007 pp:218–27).</ref> Fragment 619 refers to Troilus as an ''andropais'', a man-boy. Fragment 621 indicates that Troilus was going to a spring with a companion to fetch water or to water his horses.<ref>Sophocles fragment 621. Text available in the Loeb edition or Sommerstein (2007).</ref> A [[scholion]] to the ''Iliad''<ref>Scholia S-I24257a available in Greek at [http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720014154/http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv|date=2011-07-20}}. Link checked 14 August 2007. Translated and discussed in Sommerstein (2007: p.203).</ref> states that Sophocles has Troilus ambushed by Achilles while exercising his horses in the Thymbra. Fragment 623 indicates that Achilles mutilated Troilus' corpse by a method known as [[maschalismos]]. This involved preventing the ghost of a murder victim from returning to haunt their killer by cutting off the corpse's extremities and stringing them under its armpits.<ref>Boitani (1989: p.15); Sommerstein (207: pp. 205–8).</ref> Sophocles is thought to have also referred to the maschalismos of Troilus in a fragment taken to be from an earlier play ''Polyxene''.<ref>Sophocles ''Troilus'' Fragment 528. Text with translation Sommerstein (2007: pp.74–5); discussed Sommerstein (2007: p.83).</ref>

[[Image:Akhilleus Athena Louvre CA6529.jpg|thumb|left|alt=An image painted on the body of a vase. A seated woman speaks to a man behind her while her hand gestures forward. The man wears greaves and a helmet and holds a shield and a spear.|Athena directing Achilles to attack Troilus. A feature of the tale not available from written sources. Detail of an Etruscan red-figure stamnos (from a pair known as "Fould stamnoi"), ca. 300 BC. From Vulci.]] [[Image:Troilos Louvre CA6529.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A naked youth holds the reins of a horse. He is naked apart from sandals and some a crown or garland on his head. Behind him is a shield, the [[aegis]] of Athena|An example of Troilus with only one horse. Reverse side of above]]

; '''Youthfulness''' : [[Horace]] emphasises Troilus' youth by calling him ''inpubes'' ("unhairy", i.e. pre-pubescent or, figuratively, not old enough to bear arms).<ref name="Horace">Horace, ''Odes'' ii. ix. 13–16. Latin Text with link to translation available at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0024&layout=&loc=2.9.1]. Link checked 2 August 2007.</ref> [[Dio Chrysostom]] derides Achilles in his Trojan discourse, complaining that all that the supposed hero achieved before Homer was the capture of Troilus who was still a boy.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dio_Chrysostom/Discourses/11*.html#91 Dio Chrysostom ''Discourses'' (XI, 91)]</ref>

; '''Beauty''' : [[Ibycus]], in seeking to praise his patron, compares him to Troilus, the most beautiful of the Greeks and the Trojans.<ref>Ibycus [[Polycrates]] poem (l.41-5). Text available in Greek with parallel German translation at [http://www.gottwein.de/Grie/lyr/lyr_ibyk01.php]. Link checked 2 August 2007.</ref> Dio Chrysostom refers to Troilus as one of many examples of different kinds of beauty.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dio_Chrysostom/Discourses/21*.html#17 Dio Chrysostom Or.&nbsp;21.17]</ref> [[Statius]] compares a beautiful dead slave missed by his master to Troilus.<ref name="Silvae">Statius ''Silvae'' 2.6 32-3. Latin text available at [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/statius/silvae2.shtml]. Checked 29 July 2007.</ref>

; '''Object of [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|pederastic]] love''' : [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], in his scholia to the passage from [[Virgil]] discussed below, says that Achilles lures Troilus to him with a gift of doves. Troilus then dies in the Greek's embrace. [[Robert Graves]]<ref>Graves, (1955, 162.g).</ref> interprets this as evidence of the vigour of Achilles' love-making but [[Timothy Gantz]]<ref>Gantz (1993: p.602).</ref> considers that the "how or why" of Servius' version of Troilus' death is unclear.<ref name="Servius">Servius' Latin text can be seen at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053&layout=&loc=1.474]. Link checked 2 August 2007.</ref> Sommerstein favours Graves's interpretation saying that murder was not a part of ancient pederastic relations and that nothing in Servius suggests an intentional killing.<ref>Sommerstein (2007: pp.200–1).</ref>

; '''Location of ambush and death''' : A number of reports have come down of Troilus' death variously mentioning water, exercising horses and the Thymbra, though they do not necessarily build into a coherent whole: the First Vatican Mythographer reports that Troilus was exercising outside Troy when Achilles attacked him;<ref name=VM /> a commentator on Ibycus says that Troilus was slain by Achilles in the Thymbrian precinct outside Troy;<ref>Gantz (1993: p.597).</ref> [[Eustathius of Thessalonica]]'s commentary on the ''Iliad'' says that Troilus was exercising his horses there;<ref>Eustathius on Homer's ''Iliad'' XXIV 257, cited by J. G. Frazer in footnote 79 to his translation of Apollodorus' ''Library''. Available at [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ApEb.html]. (Link checked 2 August 2007). Eustathius follows Scholion S-I24257a, available in Greek at [http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720014154/http://panini.northwestern.edu/AnaServer?eumaios+656934+scholion.anv|date=2011-07-20}}. (Link checked 14 August 2007).</ref> Apollodorus says that Achilles ambushed Troilus inside the temple of Thymbrian Apollo;<ref>Apollodorus ''Epitome'' (3, 32) to the ''Library''. The text in Greek with a link to the English translation is available at [https://web.archive.org/web/20071223032258/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021:book=E:chapter=3:section=32]. Link checked 2 August 2007.</ref> finally, Statius<ref name=Silvae /> reports that Troilus was speared to death as he fled around Apollo's walls.<ref>The meaning of this passage is disputed. Carlos Parada at his [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Troilus.html ''Greek Mythology Link''] takes this as a reference to the walls of Apollo's temple. (Link checked 2 August 2007.) The footnote to the Loeb translation of this passage assumes this is a reference to Apollo having built the walls of Troy and that Statius is following the Virgilian version of the story.</ref> Gantz struggles to make sense of what he sees as contradictory material, feeling that Achilles' running down of Troilus' horse makes no sense if Troilus was just fleeing to the nearby temple building. He speculates that the ambush at the well and the sacrifice in the temple could be two different versions of the story or, alternatively, that Achilles takes Troilus to the temple to sacrifice him as an insult to Apollo.<ref>Gantz (1993: p.601).</ref>

An issue here is the ambiguity of the word ''congressus'' ("met"). It often refers to meeting in a conventional combat but can have reference to other types of meetings too. A similar ambiguity appears in [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]<ref>Seneca ''[[Agamemnon]]'' 748. The text in Latin, in which Cassandra grieves that Troilus met Achilles too soon, is available at [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sen/sen.agamemnon.shtml]. Link verified 10/15/07.</ref> and in [[Ausonius]]' 19th epitaph,<ref>Ausonius, ''Epitapia'', 19. Latin Text available at {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030625200255/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/epitaphia.html]}}. Link verified 8/8/2007.</ref> narrated by Troilus himself. The dead prince tells how he has been dragged by his horses after falling in unequal battle with Achilles. A reference in the epitaph comparing Troilus' death to Hector's suggests that Troilus dies later than in the traditional narrative, something that, according to Boitani,<ref>Boitani (1989: p.10).</ref> also happens in Virgil.

For medieval writers, the two most influential ancient sources on the Trojan War were the purported eye-witness accounts of [[Dares]] the Phrygian, and Dictys the Cretan, which both survive in Latin versions. In Western Europe the Trojan side of the war was favoured and therefore Dares was preferred over Dictys.<ref>Gordon, R.K. (1934: p.x) in "Introduction" to ''The Story of Troilus'' pp.ix-xvi.</ref> Although Dictys' account positions Troilus' death later in the war than was traditional, it conforms to antiquity's view of him as a minor warrior if one at all. Dares' ''De excidio Trojae historia'' (''History of the Fall of Troy'')<ref>Available in Latin online at [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/dares.html] (link checked 8/8/2007) and in English at [http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/medieval/web-content/ylias/index.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430125911/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/medieval/web-content/ylias/index.html |date=2007-04-30 }} (link checked 8/8/2007). Full translated text available in Frazer (1966).</ref> introduces the character as a hero who takes part in events beyond the story of his death.

| ''Troilus''

| ''[[Roman de Troie]]''

| ''[[Historia destructionis Troiae]]''

| Unknown

| ''[[Laud Troy Book]]''

| ''[[Troy Book]]''

| Raoul Lefevre

| ''[[Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye]]''

| ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]''

<br />In mind a giant, though a boy in years, he yields

<br />to none in daring deeds with strength in all his parts

<br />his greater glory shines throughout his countenance.<ref>Joseph of Exeter, ''Daretis :Phrygii Ilias De Bello Troiano'' iv. 61-4. Quotation from translation by A. G. Rigg available at [http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/medieval/web-content/ylias/index.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430125911/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/medieval/web-content/ylias/index.html |date=2007-04-30 }}.</ref>

<br />There never was goten suche another.<ref>''Laud Troy Book'' l. 1864-8</ref>

And when he sawe how Troilus nakid stod,

<br />Of longe fightyng awaped and amaat

<br />And from his folke alone disolat

<br /> —<small>Lydgate, ''Troy Book'', iv, 2756-8.</small>

The first major work to take the story of Troilus' failed love as its central theme is Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Il Filostrato''.<ref>The Italian text is downloadable from [http://www.letturelibere.net/download.php?id=750] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070413132800/http://www.letturelibere.net/download.php?id=750 |date=2007-04-13 }}. Link checked 17 August 2007. Translations are available in e.g. Havely, N.R. (ed.) ''Chaucer's Boccaccio'' with some of Boccaccio's other writing, and in Gordon (1934) with the complete Chaucer ''Troilus'' and extracts from Benoît.</ref> The title means "the one struck down by love".<ref>Giulia Natali (p.51) "A Lyrical Version: Boccaccio's ''Filostrato''" in Boitani (1989: pp.49–73) points out that the etymology for this meaning is faulty.</ref> There is an overt purpose to the text. In the [[proem]], Boccaccio himself is Filostrato and addresses his own love who has rejected him.<ref>There is some debate among academics on who this woman was. Nevill Coghill (1971: p.xvii) suggests Maria d'Aquino; Giulia Natali (1989: p.51) rejects this idea and proposes that Boccaccio's beloved was someone called Giovanna.</ref>

In his storytelling Chaucer links the fates of Troy and Troilus, the mutual downturn in fortune following the exchange of Criseyde for the treacherous Antenor being the most significant parallel.<ref>Benson (1980: p.137) following John P. McCall "The Trojan Scene in Chaucer's ''Troilus'', ''English Literary History'', 29 (1962), 263.</ref>

During the same period, English retellings of the broader theme of the Trojan War tended to avoid Boccaccio's and Chaucer's additions to the story, though their authors, including Caxton, commonly acknowledged Chaucer as a respected predecessor. John Lydgate's ''Troy Book'' is an exception.<ref>Benson (1989: pp.154–6).</ref> Pandarus is one of the elements from Chaucer's poem that Lydgate incorporates, but Guido provides his overall narrative framework. As with other authors, Lydgate's treatment contrasts Troilus' steadfastness in all things with Cressida's fickleness. The events of the war and the love story are interwoven. Troilus' prowess in battle markedly increases once he becomes aware that Diomedes is beginning to win Cressida's heart, but it is not long after Diomedes final victory in love when Achilles and his Myrmidon'sMyrmidons treacherously attack and kill Troilus and maltreat his corpse, concluding Lydgate's treatment of the character as an epic hero,<ref>Torti (1989: pp.173–4).</ref> who is the purest of all those who appear in the ''Troy Book''.<ref>C. David Benson {{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/growonder/chaucertroilus.html |title=Critic and poet: what Lydgate and Henryson did to Chaucer's ''Troilus and Criseyde''. |access-date=2010-10-13 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027110205/http://geocities.com/growonder/chaucertroilus.html |archive-date=October 27, 2009 }} ''[[Modern Language Quarterly]]'', March 1992, v.53 n.1 p.23(18)</ref>

[[William Walton]]'s ''[[Troilus and Cressida (opera)|Troilus and Cressida]]'' is the best known and most successful of a clutch of 20th-century operas on the subject after the composers of previous eras had ignored the possibility of setting the story.<ref>Boitani (1989: pp.287, 289, 294).</ref> [[Christopher Hassall]]'s libretto blends elements of Chaucer and Shakespeare with inventions of its own arising from a wish to tighten and compress the plot, the desire to portray Cressida more sympathetically and the search for a satisfactory ending.<ref>Boitani (1989: p.294).</ref> Antenor is, as usual, exchanged for Cressida but, in this version of the tale, his capture has taken place while he was on a mission for Troilus. Cressida agrees to marry Diomedes after she has not heard from Troilus. His apparent silence, however, is because his letters to her have been intercepted. Troilus arrives at the Greek camp just before the planned wedding. When faced with her two lovers, Cressida chooses Troilus. He is then killed by Calchas with a knife in the back. Diomedes sends his body back to Priam with Calchas in chains. It is now the Greeks who condemn "false Cressida" and seek to keep her but she commits suicide.

...turn on that cold river's brim

<br />Look back from the silent stream

<br />but pale unwithering flowers.<ref>Walton/Hassall ''Troilus and Cressida'' quoted by Boitani(1989: p.297)</ref>

Episode 3 – ''Death of a Spy'' Sc.3.</ref> described as "looking too young for the military garb".<ref>''The Myth Makers'' Episode 3 – ''Death of a Spy'' Sc.5.</ref> Both "Cressida" and "Diomede" are the assumed names of the Doctor's [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companions]]. Thus Troilus' jealousy of Diomede, whom he believes also loves Cressida, is down to confusion about the real situation. In the end "Cressida" decides to leave the Doctor for Troilus and saves the latter from the fall of Troy by finding an excuse to get him away from the city. In a reversal of the usual story, he is able to avenge Hector by killing Achilles when: they meet outside Troy and the Greek hero, despite being more than a match for the young Trojan, [[Achilles' heel|catches his heel on some vegetation and stumbles.]] (The story was originally intended to end more conventionally, with "Cressida", despite her love for him, apparently abandoning him for "Diomede", but the producers declined to renew co-star [[Maureen O'Brien]]'s contract, requiring that her character [[Vicki (Doctor Who)|Vicki]] be written out.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}})

* Andrew, M. (1989) "The Fall of Troy in ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' and ''Troilus and Criseyde'' ", in: Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;75–93). Focuses on a comparison between how the ''Gawain'' poet and Chaucer handle their themes.

* Antonelli, R. (1989) "The Birth of Criseyde: an exemplary triangle; 'Classical' Troilus and the question of love at the Anglo-Norman court", in: Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;21–48). Examination of Benoît's and Guido's treatment of the love triangle.

* Benson, C. D. (1980) ''The History of Troy in Middle English Literature'', Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer. A study examining Guido's influence on writers on Troy up to Lydgate and Henryson. Troilus is discussed throughout.

* Benson, C. D. (1989) "True Troilus and False Cresseid: the descent from tragedy" in Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;153–170). Examination of the Troilus and Cressida story in the minor authors between Chaucer and Shakespeare.

* Boitani, P. (ed.) (1989) ''The European Tragedy of Troilus'', Oxford, Clarendon Press {{ISBN|0-19-812970-X}}. This was the first full book to examine the development of Troilus through the ages. The outer chapters are by Boitani reviewing the history of Troilus as a character from ancient to modern times. The middle chapters, looking at the tale through the medieval and renaissance periods, are by other authors with several examining Chaucer and Shakespeare.

* Burgess, J. S. (2001) ''The Tradition of the Trojan War in Homer and the Epic Cycle'', Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press {{ISBN|0-8018-7890-X}}. Examination of the Trojan War in archaic literary and artifact sources. Troilus mentioned in passing.

* Carpenter, T. H. (1991) ''Art and Myth in Ancient Greece'', London, Thames and Hudson. Contains roughly four pages (17–21) of text and, separately, fourteen illustrations (figs. 20–22, 25–35) on Troilos in ancient art. {{ISBN|0-500-20236-2}}.

* [[Nevill Coghill|Coghill, N.]] (ed.) (1971: pp.&nbsp;xi–xxvi) "Introduction" in: Geoffrey Chaucer, ''Troilus and Criseyde'', London: Penguin {{ISBN|0-14-044239-1}}. Discusses Chaucer, his sources and key themes in the ''Troilus''. The main body of the book is a translation into modern English by Coghill.

* Foakes, R. A. (ed.) (1987) ''Troilus and Cressida'' (The New Penguin Shakespeare.) London: Penguin {{ISBN|0-14-070741-7}}. Annotated edition with introduction.

* Frazer, R. M. (trans.) (1966) ''The Trojan War: the Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. English translation of Dictys' ''Ephemeridos belli Trojani'' (pp.&nbsp;17–130) and Dares' ''De excidio Trojae historia'' (pp.&nbsp;131–68) with Introduction (pp.&nbsp;3–15) covering the theme of Troy in medieval literature and endnotes.

* Gantz, T. (1993) ''Early Greek Myth''. Baltimore: Johns Hopklins U. P. A standard sourcebook on Greek myths. Multiple versions available. There are approximately six pages (597–603) plus notes discussing Troilos in Volume 2 of the two volume edition. Page references are to the two volume 1996 Johns Hopkins Paperbacks edition ({{ISBN|0-8018-5362-1}}).

* [[R. K. Gordon|Gordon, R. K.]] (1934) ''The Story of Troilus''. London: J. M. Dent. (Dutton Paperback ed. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1964.) This book has been reprinted by various publishers. It contains a translated selection from ''Le Roman de Troie'', a full translation of ''Il filostrato'' and the unmodernised texts of ''Troilus and Criseyde'' and ''The Testament of Cresseid''. Page references are to the 1995 printing by University of Toronto Press and the Medieval Academy of America ({{ISBN|0-8020-6368-3}}).

* [[Robert Graves|Graves, R.]] (1955) ''The Greek Myths''. Another standard sourcebook available in many editions. Troilus is discussed in Volume 2 of the two volume version. Page references are to the 1990 Penguin printing of the 1960 revision ({{ISBN|0-14-001027-0}}).

* [[C. S. Lewis|Lewis, C. S.]] (1936) ''The Allegory of Love''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Influential work on the literature of courtly love, including Chaucer's ''Troilus''.

* Lombardo, A. (1989) "Fragments and Scraps: Shakespeare's ''Troilus and Cressida''" in Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;199–217). Sets the cynical tone of ''Troilus'' in the context of changes both in the world and the theatre.

* Lyder, T. D. (2010) [https://archive.today/20130125112643/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-232888048.html "Chaucer's second Hector: the triumphs of Diomede and the possibility of epic in Troilus and Criseyde. (Critical essay)"], ''Medium Aevum'', March 22, 2010, Accessed through [[Highbeam]], August 30, 2012 (subscription required).

* March, J. (1998) ''Dictionary of Classical Mythology''. London: Cassell. {{ISBN|0-304-34626-8}} Illustrated dictionary with Troilus covered in one page. Page references are to 1998 hardback edition.

* Natali, G. (1989) "A Lyrical Version: Boccaccio's ''Filostrato''", in: Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;49–73). An examination of the ''Filostrato'' in context.

* Novak, M. E (ed.) (1984) ''The Works of John Dryden: Volume XIII Plays: All for Love; Oedipus; Troilus and Cressida''. Berkeley: University of California Press {{ISBN|0-520-05124-6}}. Volume in complete edition with annotated texts and commentaries.

* [[Joyce Carol Oates|Oates, J. O.]] (1966/7) "The Tragedy of Existence: Shakespeare's ''Troilus and Cressida''" by Joyce Carol Oates. Originally published as two separate essays, in ''[[Philological Quarterly]]'', Spring 1967, and ''Shakespeare Quarterly'', Spring 1966. Available online at [https://web.archive.org/web/20050323061825/http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/southerr/troilus.html#12] (Checked 17 August 2007).

* Palmer, K. (ed.) (1982) ''Troilus and Cressida''. (The Arden Shakespeare.) London: Methuen. Edition of the play as part of respected series, with extensive notes, appendices and 93 page introduction. References are to 1997 printing by Thomas Nelson & Sons, London ({{ISBN|0-17-443479-0}}).

* Rufini, S. (1989) "'To Make that Maxim Good': Dryden's Shakespeare", in: Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;243–80). Discussion of Dryden's remodeling of ''Troilus''.

* Sommer, H. O. (ed.) (1894) ''The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye: written in French by Raoul Lefèvre; translated and printed by William Caxton (about A.D. 1474); the first English printed book, now faithfully reproduced, with a critical introduction, index and glossary and eight pages in photographic facsimile''. London: David Nutt. Edition of Caxton translation of Lefevre with introduction of 157 pages. Page references are to AMS Press 1973 reprinting ({{ISBN|0-404-56624-3}}).

* Sommerstein, A. H., Fitzpatrick, D. & Talby, T. (2007) ''Sophocles: Selected Fragmentary Plays''. Oxford: Aris and Phillips ({{ISBN|0-85668-766-9}}). This is a product of the [[University of Nottingham]]'s project on [[Sophocles]]' fragmentary plays. The book contains a 52-page chapter (pp.&nbsp;196–247) on the ''Troilos'', including the Greek text with translation and commentary of the few words and phrases known to come from the play. The introduction to this chapter includes approximately seven pages on the literary and artistic background on Troilus plus discussion and a putative reconstruction of the plot of the play itself. This, the chapter on the ''Polyxene'', where Troilus is also discussed, and the general introduction to the book are all solely by Sommerstein and therefore he alone is referenced above.

* Torti, A. (1989) "From 'History' to 'Tragedy': The Story of Troilus and Criseyde in Lydgate's ''Troy Book'' and Henryson's ''Testament of Cresseid''", in: Boitani (1989: pp.&nbsp;171–97). Examination of the two most important authors considering the love story between Chaucer and Shakespeare.

* Windeatt, B. (1989) "Classical and Medieval Elements in Chaucer's ''Troilus''", in: Boitani (1989: p.&nbsp;111–131)

* Woodford, S. (1993) ''The Trojan War in Ancient Art''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press {{ISBN|0-7156-2468-7}}. Contains approximately four illustrated pages (55–59) on Troilos in ancient art.

* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/vor?target=en%2C1&collection=Perseus%3Acollection%3AGreco-Roman&lookup=Troilus&formentry=1&template=&searchText=&alts=1&extern=1&group=work&start=20&detail=Perseus%20Vase%20Catalog#Perseus%20Vase%20Catalog List of pictures of Troilus at Perseus Project]: Includes sections from the François Vase. The site holds an extensive classical collection including the texts of both primary and secondary sources on classical topics. Several of the texts mentioned here are available there in the original language and with English translation. A smaller Renaissance collection contains the text of the Shakespeare ''Troilus and Cressida''.

* [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Dict/ASP/OpenDictionaryBody.asp?name=Troilos Publicly accessible images of ambush and pursuit in the Beazley Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527125108/http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Dict/ASP/OpenDictionaryBody.asp?name=Troilos |date=2006-05-27 }}: Many other images of Troilus on the site are accessible for academic or research purposes.

* [http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft1f59n77b&brand=eschol The Development of Attic Black-Figure by J. D. Beazley] discusses several pictures of Troilos. Heavily illustrated in black and white.

[[Category:TrojansTrojan Leaders]]

[[Category:LGBTLGBTQ themes in Greek mythology]]